


Home Again

by zarrati



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, Missing Scenes, post ep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-19 07:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2380295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarrati/pseuds/zarrati
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Partridge missing scenes</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home Again

 

Early Saturday morning, Ben shuffled into his kitchen, bleary eyed and with unbrushed hair while wearing his lounge pants and plain cotton t-shirt. He made a beeline for the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup before making his way to the dining room table where his wife sat, already dressed and ready for the day. She had a mug of whipped cream on top of what he hoped was coffee, and piles of paperwork were strewn in front of her.

"Morning, honey," she called to him as he came to press a quick kiss to her lips.

"Morning," he replied, stifling a yawn as he sat down next to her, trying to rub the sleep from his tired eyes. "Hey, did the paper come today?" he asked Leslie after allowing some time for the caffeine to kick in.

Without looking up from her work, she pointed towards the living room. "I put it on the coffee table along with mail."

Ben stood up and walked to the other room, coming back a few moments later with the paper tucked under his arm as he rifled through their daily mail.

"Hey, Les, look at this," he said to her as he walked back into the room, placing all of the mail on the table except for a small white envelope. "It's a letter from Partridge City Hall. What could they possibly want with me now?" he asked as he held the envelope, his hands slightly shaking while Leslie quickly stood up and eagerly peered over his shoulder.

"Open it, Ben!" Leslie said impatiently, bouncing in anticipation.

Ben’s hands continued to shake, unable to bring himself to open the seal. "I can't do it. I'm too nervous. Nothing good has come to me from there since the day I left."

"Oh, give me it," she said exasperated, tearing the envelope from his hands, ripping it open, and reading the letter aloud.

"Dear Mr. Benjamin Wyatt,

On behalf of the city of Partridge, Minnesota, I would like to extend an invitation to you and your family for a special ceremony to be held in your honor. Although the Ice Town incident caused a great deal of hardship to our city, I would like you to know that all has been forgiven. As a gesture of good will, I would like to present you with the Key to the City of Partridge, an honor bestowed upon all previous Mayors. I hope that we can leave the past in the past and that you would do us the honor of returning for this wonderful occasion. Please contact my office with your decision as soon as possible.

  
Cordially,

Mayor Stice

Partridge, Minnesota

Leslie let out a joyful laugh, a large, proud smile forming on her face. "Oh, my God, Ben, this is so great. They're going to honor you with the key to the city. We need to call them right now!" However, looking over at her husband, she noticed that he was nowhere near as enthusiastic about this as she was. "What's wrong? Why aren't you excited? Come on, they’re inviting you back home. They've finally forgiven you. This is amazing!"

"I don't know, Leslie," he said conflicted, "something about this just doesn't seem right. I mean, why now? It's been over twenty years of shame and humiliation, and now they want to give me the key to the city? Something just doesn't add up."

Leslie gave him one of her patented looks of disbelief. "I can't believe that you are being so cynical about this. Yes, Ice Town was a complete disaster and you ended up bankrupting your entire city and hundreds if not thousands of citizens lost their jobs and it probably took years for the city to recover-"

"Are you trying to make me feel worse or-"

"What I'm trying to say is that you were an eighteen year old kid who tried his best to help the town that he loved. It might not have ended the way that you had hoped, but you tried, and maybe after twenty years, the people of Partridge are finally ready to forgive you and this is their olive branch. God knows you deserve it. Maybe now it's time to stop trying to make up for what happened all of those years ago."

“Maybe, but you weren't there when this thing blew up. I was practically run out of town. People still tell horror stories of me to their children for crying out loud. I don't think I can show my face there again."

Leslie placed a loving hand on Ben's arm as she spoke, rubbing soothing circles across his skin with her thumb. "Ben, I think you should go; I think you _need_ to go. Both you and Partridge need closure and to put this whole Ice Town thing behind you. This is finally your chance to set things right. Besides, I can't wait to visit all of the places where a little Benji Wyatt used to go growing up," she finished with a smile, her eyes lighting up in delight.

Even Mean Ben of three years ago couldn't say no to those eyes, let alone now, and he did see her logic. After several minutes of an intense internal debate, Ben finally relented, his shoulders loosening and a smile forming on his face. "Okay, you're right. Let's just do this and put Ice Town behind me for good."

Leslie threw her arms around Ben in a crushing hug, practically bouncing with excitement. "This is going to be so amazing. Okay, so we need to call the Mayor and find out when we need to be there, and we need to take the few days around it off of work so we can have enough time to drive there and sightsee, and we need to book a place to stay, and-"

"Whoa, slow down, Leslie. Let's just tackle a few things at a time. I'll call Mayor Stice first and find out the details, and then I'll call my sister and see if we can stay with her for a few days. You know, so we won't have to worry about booking a room or anything."

Leslie sauntered up to him, her eyes going from excited to slightly aroused. "See, this is why you're a gorgeous, sexy man-genius. Always the level-headed thinker. That sounds perfect. Oh, my God, I can't wait to finally meet Stephanie. This is so exciting. I have a million questions for her about you. I need to work on that binder right now."

And with that, Leslie ran from the room, Ben softly chuckling at his wife's enthusiasm. He pulled out his phone and briefly stared at the screen, unable to gather the courage to dial the mayor's office just yet. He wished he could reciprocate Leslie's feelings about this whole ceremony and return to Partridge, but a calamity like Ice Town isn't one you just get over.

He couldn't believe that after twenty years, he was finally going to go back home, to the town he almost destroyed by pursuing a teenage dream. He hoped Leslie was right and that this really was an act of forgiveness, that he could stop spending his life making up for the mistakes of his youth.

Ben finally dialed the number that he never forgot to the office that was once his own. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the ring.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Alright, here we are," Ben said as he pulled up in front of his sister's home.

"Oh, my God, this is so cute!" Leslie gushed, her face lighting up.

"Les, you've said that about every place that we've stopped, including the funeral home where we had my grandfather's service," Ben said, slightly amused by her genuine enthusiasm over every aspect of his life in Partridge.

"Well, I can't help it. Partridge is almost as amazing as Pawnee. Everything is just so cute and quaint and wonderful. Now, come on, let's go inside. I can't wait to finally meet your sister!"

Before waiting for a reply, Leslie ran from the car to the trunk, grabbing her bags and making a beeline for the house. Ben shook his head and went to follow, reaching the porch just as his sister opened the door, a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, Steph," Ben said returning her smile.

"Benji, Leslie! Welcome, come in!" As Leslie entered, she enveloped Stephanie in a bone crushing hug; Stephanie's face was startled at first but softened as she returned the gesture, shooting Ben a grin over Leslie's shoulder.

Ben quickly embraced his sister before making his way into the house, Leslie still bouncing with excitement.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay with you while we're here. It's so great to finally meet you," Leslie said, her grin never leaving her face.

"Don't be silly, my door is always open to my big brother and his blushing bride," she said with a loving smirk in Ben's direction. "I have been dying to meet you as well. It takes a special woman to steal Benji's heart, and based on everything he's told me, you really are one of a kind."

Ben dropped his face in embarrassment, his cheeks reddening at his sister's words.

"Awww, babe, you've been talking about me?" Leslie said with a teasing grin.

"Are you kidding? He's been telling me about you since he went to Pawnee as an auditor. Everyone was surprised when Sir Moves-around-alot decided to stay there permanently, but not me. I knew he had it bad for you probably before he did."

"Come on, Steph," Ben murmured self-consciously, the big brother/ little sister dynamic clearly evident.

"Well, it's true, and what kind of little sister would I be if I didn't humiliate you in front of your wife," she said with a loving smirk, clearly enjoying her brother's discomfort.

"I like her," Leslie told Ben, gently bumping her shoulder into him.

"Well, I'm glad," Stephanie responded with a laugh. "Now, if you’re hungry, I was just about to start lunch. Come on back to the kitchen. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Following his sister through the house, Ben placed his hand behind his neck, rubbing it back and forth as he spoke apologetically. "Hey, so I know I've said this already, but I really wanted to apologize for not having the family at the wedding. It was just really last minute and the way things worked out..."

"Oh, don't even apologize. I completely understand. I heard about what happened at the engagement party, and I really don't blame you for not holding off so you can have your dysfunctional family there. I'm just glad that you did what you felt was right and made you happy," she said genuinely, her admiration for her older brother clearly unmistakable.

"Thanks Steph, that means a lot," Ben replied, reaching out to grasp his sister's hand.

"This is just so beautiful," Leslie interjected, her eyes filling with tears and her voice emotional.

"Oh, Les, don't cry again," Ben said to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Looking to his sister, he continued. "She's cried at almost every significant landmark that we've visited since we got here."

"I can't help it, Ben.  Just seeing you reconnect with your hometown and your family, it's just so wonderful."

Stephanie looked to Leslie with a mixture of amusement and appreciation, confused yet touched that Leslie would place so much value on Ben's past.

"Well, no more tears right now. Come on, let's go eat and finish catching up."

Ben wrapped his arm around Leslie's shoulder and placed a gentle kiss against her hair before he led her towards the kitchen.

Stephanie couldn't help but smile as she watched her brother with his wife, never having seen him look so happy and content in her entire life.

She and Ben have always been close, having relied on each other heavily during their parents' divorce. Even after the Ice Town debacle, she never turned her back on him, despite the fact that his failure made her last few years of high school beyond difficult.

Over the years, although she and Ben didn't see much of each other, they always set time aside to talk on the phone. She heard all of his stories from his job travelling around Indiana, the tales of the citizens who threatened bodily harm and the few women who entered his life here and there, but something changed when he went to Pawnee. Almost immediately, Ben told her about the thorn in his side that was Leslie Knope, the strong willed parks employee who was battling Ben at every turn.

After a while, his complaints turned into stories of admiration, the different lengths that she was willing to go in order to save her friends' jobs.

During one of their conversations after the Harvest Festival, Stephanie finally decided to goad her brother. "So, when are you going to ask Leslie out?"

She could hear Ben choke and stutter on the other line. "Wha'? Why would you say that? What makes you think that I am even interested in Leslie? I mean we're just friends, so it would be weird to ask her out, you know," he finished flustered.

"Are you done, because I know when you're lying, Benji. Do you realize that you have talked about her in every single conversation we've had since you met her? And your voice just changes every time you talk about her. You've got it bad, Ben. I mean, at least ask her out once before you have to leave and see if maybe you can make something work long distance."

Ben was silent for so long that Stephanie thought they might have been disconnected. "Ben? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. So, you know how the City Manager had a heart attack and they brought Chris in to take his place? Well, it looks like the job is more permanent than we thought, and Chris offered me a job to work for him, to stay in Pawnee."

"Wow. That's a big deal. So, are you going to take it? I know that you were thinking of trying to get a position that didn't require you to move so much."

"I don't know. I mean, I have put in a lot of time in with the State to just quit like this, but Pawnee is just so special."

"You want to stay for Leslie, don't you?"

She could hear Ben sigh on his end before answering. "Yeah, I do. She's just so amazing, Steph. I've never met anyone like her before in my entire life. She's smart and funny and passionate about everything that she does. I could really see myself falling in love with her," Ben finished softly, somewhat embarrassed by his confession.

"Hate to tell you, big bro, but I think you already are. If you feel that strongly, I think you should take the job. The way you talk about her and Pawnee make it sound like you really want to stay, so just do it. Follow your heart, for once."

"I think I need to think about it some more, maybe talk to Leslie before I make a final decision, but I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna move to Pawnee," he told her, and Stephanie could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm glad. I think you've finally found somewhere that you can call home again and someone to make it special."

"Steph, I don't even know if she thinks of me in that way. She used to hate me, remember?"

"Will you stop being so depressing? She doesn't hate you anymore, and give yourself some credit. You're a great guy with a good heart and a lot to offer. She would have to be crazy to not go for you. Just talk to her and see what happens, okay?"

"You know, I think I will," Ben said, his spirits lifting. After a brief pause he spoke again, this time his voice filled with gratitude. "Thanks, Steph, for everything. I'll let you know how it works out."

"You better.  Love you, Benji."

"Love you, too, Stephy."

She smiled at the use of her childhood nickname, silently wishing him all of the best in his pursuit of the woman of his dreams. She really did love her brother dearly, and with everything that he has gone through, he deserved his chance at happiness with someone very special, and from what Ben had said, this Leslie Knope was certainly someone special.

The sound of chairs scraping across her kitchen floor brought Stephanie back to the present, finally following the couple into the kitchen.

"So, who's hungry?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leslie stomped from the mayor’s office, fuming that Stice had the audacity to humiliate Ben simply to deflect from his own plummeting approval rate.

"I can't believe this guy!" Leslie said angrily as she walked through City Hall. "How could he do this to you after everything that you've been put through? It's not right, Ben. Ben?" She turned around and realized that he was no longer behind her, and in retrospect, it probably wasn't the best idea to turn her back on the guy doped up on morphine who not five minutes ago was trying to feed a bronzed eagle. "Damn it," she said to herself as she retraced her steps, trying to locate her husband in the vast expanse of City Hall.

Several minutes later, Leslie found Ben in front of a large painting of cattle grazing in a green pasture, apparently having an animated conversation with one of the cows.

"Hey, honey, what are ya doin'?" Leslie asked with faux curiosity, gently trying to take his hand to lead him away.

"I was jus' talking to Lester, here. Did you know that he spent a year studying Renaissance Art in Naples?"

"Wow, that _is_ really cool. Now, say goodbye, we have to go."

Ben got a sad look on his face, but obeyed immediately. "Okay. Bye Lester. Good luck with your thesis," he yelled over his shoulder as they walked away, waving to the picture with one hand while his other was firmly gripped by Leslie. "He was nice. I think he's my only friend here."

Although the statement was said without any trace of sadness, Leslie's heart still broke at the frankness of his words. The worst part was that he was probably right. His sister and an imaginary cow named Lester were the only creatures in the entire City of Partridge who probably wouldn't spit on Ben if he walked past them.

"Hey," she said turning to him, holding his face so that his dilated eyes were looking (kind of) into hers, "everyone in this town sucks ass, okay. If they can't get over something that happened twenty years ago and realize what an amazing and loving person you are, they can screw themselves. They don't deserve you."

A goofy smile overtook Ben's placid face as she spoke, his hand gripping hers a little tighter. "That was so nice, Leslie. Thank you," he said as he continued to stare at her lazily, his grin never wavering. He slowly raised his free hand to her face, awkwardly trying to cup her cheek in what Leslie assumed would have been a more gentle and loving gesture had Ben's coordination not been affected by the drugs.

"You're so amazing and wonderful and caring and pretty. I don't think people tell you enough how pretty you are. Sure, they tell you that you're smart and hardworking and organized, blah blah blah, but never that you're beautiful," Ben said to her, his tone clearly portraying his disappointment at this fact.

His fingers started to travel across her face, Leslie closing her eyes quickly to avoid having Ben poke her and blind her. "I really love your face," he said wistfully, his fingers continuing their exploration. Suddenly, he removed his hand and leaned towards her, whispering conspiratorially. "Don't be mad, but I think you're even prettier than Ann. Shhhh," he finished, bringing his finger to his lips in a hushing motion.

Leslie couldn't help but smile at Ben's antics, his words touching her deeply. Although he was high off his ass, Leslie knew that he was being sincere, the drugs giving him the courage to say and do things he might not be able to otherwise.

Leslie reached up to cup his cheek, her eyes getting misty with unshed tears. "Thank you, that was very sweet. Come on, let's find somewhere to wait this out."

"Okay," Ben said immediately, eagerly following her towards the car like a child would his mother, his hand refusing to let go of hers as he continued to ramble about anything and everything, Leslie occasionally nodding or inserting an affirmative word here and there.

"And so then CaptnKrkLvr76 basically attacked all of us on the Captain Picard message board, and I was all like 'What the hell man?' It's crazy. Why can't we all just get along and let out the love that is flowing through us? Also, what is up with Jackson splitting the Hobbit into _three_ different movies? The book is only like one hundred pages long-"

"Oh, look, we're at the car already. Time to stop talking now," Leslie said exasperated, only able to take so much of her husband’s incessant ramblings about Sci-Fi and fantasy films.

Opening the passenger door, Leslie ushered Ben into the car, his grin still plastered on his face. As she reached over him to buckle his seat belt, Ben started to tickle her, his own boyish giggles filling the car at his antics.

Although mostly unaffected by his hands, Leslie still let out a small laugh as she pulled away from him, quickly caressing his cheek before shutting the door and making her way to the driver's seat.

"Alright, Benji, where to next?"

"To infinity and beyond!" he yelled before quickly dissolving into another fit of laughter. "No, I was just kidding. We can't go there. I'm almost sure that's not possible anyway, especially without hyperdrive. Your car doesn't have hyperdrive, does it?"

"Uhm, no, I don't think that came standard with this model."

"Bummer," he said, staring at his lap for several minutes as silence filled the car. "Hey, Leslie?"

"Yeah?"

"My penis still hurts."

"Well, the Doctor said that it would be a little sore for a while. I mean, it did just suffer a pretty traumatic experience."

"Yeah, that hurt, but now I'm sad."

"Why is that?"

Ben let out a depressed sigh, still staring at his hands. "Because now I can't have sex with you."

Leslie let out a tiny chuckle at his confession, immediately feeling somewhat guilty at her response to his distress. "Honey, it's not like we won't ever have sex again, just not until you're feeling better."

He looked over at her with a face that clearly said 'Duh, I'm not stupid', Ben rolling his eyes at her statement. "Well, yeah I know _that_ **.** I meant that I really wanted to have sex with you here."

"In the parking lot of City Hall?"

"No, Leslie! I mean _here_ in Partridge. Kind of like a 'Fuck you' to the universe for every crappy thing that's happened to me here. I might have been run out of town and everyone here might hate me and my entire life up until this point might have been to make up for my mistakes here, but I still came out the winner. Because of this town, I ended up in Pawnee, met you, and now I have the greatest, hottest wife in the entire universe. I wanted Partridge to know that you love me and that I can make you scream my name, maybe get you pregnant here or something," he said without thinking. Suddenly his eyes got wide and he covered his mouth with his hands, trying to stifle an embarrassed laugh. "You weren't supposed to hear that last one."

Leslie's own eyes grew wide, not out of amusement but shock. "You really thought about getting me pregnant? _Here_? **"**

Ben looked down at his hands sheepishly. "Well, I was going to talk to you about it first. I wasn't planning on impregnating you without your knowledge or something. I don't know," he shrugged, “I guess I just wanted one good thing to come out of this place."

"Hey," Leslie said gently, turning his face to hers, "something good already has come out of here. I will always love Partridge simply for the fact that it gave me you, and yes, maybe someday we will have kids, but it will be when weknow the time is right, not out of some desperate attempt to get back at our past."

"I know, I'm sorry," Ben said sadly, his face resembling that of a kicked puppy.

"It's okay. You do realize that you won't even remember that we had this conversation once your meds wear off?"

Ben simply let out a low, drunken laugh, no longer listening to a word that Leslie was saying, but was distracted by two squirrels chasing each other outside of the car window, Ben's nose pressed firmly against the glass. Suddenly, he turned to face Leslie, snapping his fingers (well, attempting to), "I know! Let's go to my favorite park as a kid. Introduce my favorite Parks Lady to my favorite park," Ben laughed at his own wit.

"Alright, I'd like that," Leslie said with a smile. Even high as a kite, her husband was still the greatest, most thoughtful man on the planet.

"Cool, girl. Let's peace up outta this bitch."

"Please, don't ever say that again."

"'Kay."

As Leslie started the engine, Ben began to fiddle with the temperature controls on the car, moving knobs back and forth with an aggravated expression on his face.

"Man, worst radio stations ever." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The pair laughed uncontrollably as they sprinted back to their car, hoping that the Park Ranger wasn't going to bother to follow them. When they reached doors, they quickly opened them and locked themselves in, attempting to catch their breath and control their giggles.

"Well, that certainly was interesting," Leslie laughed, her cheeks flushed.

"This town really can't give me a break, can it," Ben replied, his smirk telling Leslie that he wasn't as upset as his statement might have suggested. "But, really, thank you for getting that key for me. It means a lot that you cared enough to commit theft of government property," Ben said with a love filled grin, reaching out to take her hand in his.

"It's no big deal. Stice was too distracted by you to notice what I was doing anyway. You were pretty entertaining," she told him with a teasing smile, enjoying the look of embarrassment on Ben's face.

"Oh, God," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I must have made a fool of myself."

"Well, maybe just a little, but don't worry, I took a few videos of you just in case you wanted to see them," she told him, laughing at the look of horror on his face. "I'll tell you more about it when we get back to Pawnee. Now, come on, let's go home."

"Okay, but there was one more place I wanted to show you before we left," he told her as he started the engine and put the car in drive.

After about ten minutes, Ben pulled into a secluded area overlooking a large, pristine lake.

"Wow," Leslie gasped, the scene before her taking her breath away, "this is so beautiful."

"Well, we aren't the Land of a Thousand Lakes for nothing," Ben replied with a wry smile, happy that his wife was impressed with the view.

"It's so gorgeous. Where are we?"

Ben chuckled a bit to himself before responding, slightly embarrassed. "For lack of a better term, this was the make out spot kids used to go to when I was in high school."

"Oh, so this is where Benji Wyatt took all of his girls," Leslie smirked.

"Hardly. You heard Steph, I wasn't exactly a ladies man back in those days, or ever actually. As a matter of fact, this is where Cindy Eckhart broke my heart."

Leslie looked over at him and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She pretty much kick started everything, and it was probably the best thing she could have done, to be honest."

"Well, it was her loss. How she didn't just want to jump your bones after seeing that butt and this face is beyond me. You know, I really did have the biggest crush on you back then," Leslie confessed, looking to her husband with a sultry sparkle in her eyes. "I admit, I was ridiculously jealous of you and all that you had accomplished, but again I was still a teenager, and I thought you were just the cutest thing that I had ever seen," she dropped her voice and leaned towards him slightly. "I kept a newspaper article and picture of you on my wall for months."

"Really?" Ben asked, surprised and aroused that his wife had been attracted to him over twenty years prior.

"Really. Granted, by the time you had gotten impeached, I had stopped following your story. You know, busy with college and all that, but for those few months, ugh, all I can say is that you were definitely the star in a few of my more interesting teenage hormone induced dreams."

"God, Les, that's really hot."

"Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah."

Leslie's smile became more seductive as her fingers played with the sleeve of Ben's shirt. "So, why did you bring me here?"

"Well," he drawled out as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really have the best memories here, and I guess I wanted to change that. It would have been a shame to waste such an important Partridge landmark."

"Oh, is this where you wanted us to have sex before this whole kidney stone thing happened?" she asked, forgetting that he had told her that while high on morphine until she saw his look of utter mortification. "Oh, yeah, you might have confessed something like that to me when you were, you know, stoned."

"Oh, God, I can't believe I told you that," he groaned, burying his face in his hands once more. "You must think I'm crazy. Did I, uh, say anything else that I might regret?"

"I'm sure you said a lot of things that you wish you hadn't, but the biggest ones were probably the sex thing, and, uhm, you did sort of mention the whole impregnating me here thing too."

"Jesus, what the hell is in those pills? Les, I can explain. Shit, now the whole mood is ruined by me and my big mouth."

"I wouldn't say that. So, we aren't able to have really hot car sex at your teenage lover's lane, but I am totally in the mood for a pretty intense make out session. I mean, we are going steady, and you did gave me your class ring and everything. So, what do you say, Benji? Wanna get to third base with me?" Leslie asked, moving herself ever so slightly closer to him as a sensual smile played on her lips.

"Hell, yes," he replied before crushing his lips to hers, his hands automatically reaching up to run his fingers through her hair. "Babe, you are a million times better than Cindy Eckhart could ever hope to be," he panted against her lips before he began to trail his own mouth down her neck.

"You better believe it, but bring Cindy Eckhart up again and you won't be getting any under the sweater action, you hear me?" Leslie chastised, unable to keep the chuckle out of her voice.

"Yes, ma'am."

Needless to say, Ben Wyatt's most recent trip to Partridge did not turn out exactly the way he had planned. There was no forgiveness for his past mistakes, no honor bestowed on him for his brief tenure as Mayor, and spending the last 24 hours high on morphine was definitely not on his agenda, but it really didn't matter.

Ben truly meant what he had said to Leslie earlier, he will always love his hometown, but nothing else mattered because now he had Pawnee and Leslie. Granted, he didn't have the best memories of Partridge, but as he looked over as his wife was trying to tame her mussed hair and readjust her clothes, Ben realized that he just needed to make his own new memories, and so far, he was doing a pretty good job.


End file.
